Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique (Maputo)
29 October 2009
Maputo — The Electoral Administration Technical Secretariat (STAE), the electoral branch of the Mozambican civil service, on Thursday night issued a set of provisional results from the general elections held on Wednesday, confirming the overwhelming victory for the ruling Frelimo Party that the public has learnt of through the reports broadcast by Radio Mozambique from the polling stations.
STAE officials in the provinces have simply been phoning in the polling station results sheets, as they become available, to STAE headquarters in Maputo. The picture they paint across the country is one of a huge triumph for Frelimo, and a crushing defeat for the main opposition party, Renamo.
Nowhere is this more true than in the central province of Sofala, once regarded as an impregnable Renamo stronghold. That fortress now looks set to fall to Frelimo. But perhaps even more humiliating for Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama is that he is not even in second position in Sofala. He is trailing Daviz Simango, mayor of Beira, and leader of the breakaway Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM).
The provisional results from Sofala, with 354 of 962 polling stations processed (36.8 per cent) are as follows (candidates and parties are listed in the order they appeared on the ballot paper. AIM has omitted minor parties in the parliamentary results):
Presidential election
Daviz Simango (MDM): 54,657 (39.3 per cent) Armando Guebuza (Frelimo): 71,970 (51.75 per cent) Afonso Dhlakama (Renamo): 12,457 (8.96 per cent)
Parliamentary election
Frelimo: 69,878 (50.5 per cent) Renamo: 14,468 (10.45 per cent) MDM: 51,223 (37.01 per cent)
A second Renamo bastion, Zambezia province, looks as if it too will fall to Frelimo. Here STAE has so far processed 323 of 2,064 polling stations. The results are:
Presidential election
Daviz Simango (MDM): 5,914 (8.66 per cent) Armando Guebuza (Frelimo): 43,680 (63.94 per cent) Afonso Dhlakama (Renamo): 18,719 (27.4 per cent)
Parliamentary election (only 218 polling stations)
Frelimo: 35,906 (64.85 per cent) Renamo: 16,999 (30.7 per cent)
In Manica province, Frelimo and Renamo were neck and neck in the 2004 election. But now Frelimo has raced ahead. The results, from 113 of 847 polling stations (13.34 per cent) are:
Presidential election
Daviz Simango (MDM): 5,149 (12.4 per cent) Armando Guebuza (Frelimo): 29,980 (72.17 per cent) Afonso Dhlakama (Renamo): 6,409 (15.43 per cent)
Parliamentary election
Frelimo: 29,068 (75.5 per cent) Renamo: 8,011 (20.8 per cent)
In the largest constituency, Nampula, STAE has so far processed only 123 of the 2,156 polling stations (5.71 per cent). Three quarters of those votes went to Guebuza. The results are:
Presidential election
Daviz Simango (MDM): 2,521 (6.32 per cent) Armando Guebuza (Frelimo): 30,280 (75.89 per cent) Afonso Dhlakama (Renamo): 7,097 (17.79 per cent)
Parliamentary election
Frelimo: 27,468 (76.5 per cent) Renamo: 7,450 (20.7 per cent)
In the western province of Tete, STAE has only processed results from 31 of the 1,207 polling stations. These give Guebuza and Frelimo overwhelming victories:
Presidential election
Daviz Simango (MDM): 491 (4.4 per cent) Armando Guebuza (Frelimo): 9,824 (88.1 per cent) Afonso Dhlakama (Renamo): 836 (7.5 per cent)
Parliamentary election
Frelimo: 10,124 (93.84 per cent) Renamo: 592 (5.49 per cent)
In the northern province of Cabo Delgado, STAE has processed just 55 of the 1,138 polling stations (4.83 per cent). Again, Guebuza and Frelimo take over 80 per cent:
Presidential election
Daviz Simango (MDM): 1,384 (6.91 per cent) Armando Guebuza (Frelimo): 16,237 (81.07 per cent) Afonso Dhlakama (Renamo): 2,407 (12.02 per cent)
Parliamentary election
Frelimo: 16,030 (82.69 per cent) Renamo: 2,752 (14.2 per cent)
In the four southern provinces, all of which are Frelimo strongholds, Dhlakama lies in a bad third, easily beaten by Simango. In Maputo city, the MDM is taking almost a fifth of the votes in the parliamentary election, which should translate into two or three seats. The provisional results from 419 of the 791 Maputo City polling stations (52.97 per cent) are:
Presidential election
Daviz Simango (MDM): 28,062 (17.51 per cent) Armando Guebuza (Frelimo): 126,217 (78.75 per cent) Afonso Dhlakama (Renamo): 5,994 (3.74 per cent)
Parliamentary election
Frelimo: 120,707 (73.26 per cent) Renamo: 9,096 (5.52 per cent) MDM: 32,461 (19.7 per cent)
With 419 of 848 polling stations in Maputo province processed (49.91 per cent), Guebuza had over 85 per cent of the votes.
Presidential election
Daviz Simango (MDM): 13,823 (8.7 per cent) Armando Guebuza (Frelimo): 137,843 (87.2 per cent) Afonso Dhlakama (Renamo): 6,323 (4.0 per cent)
Parliamentary election
Frelimo: 118,614 (89.3 per cent) Renamo: 8,994 (6.8 per cent)
In Inhambane, Guebuza is also topping 85 per cent. This is one of the four provinces where the MDM was on the ballot paper, and it has probably done well enough to win a parliamentary seat. With 52 of 868 polling stations processed, the provisional results were:
Presidential election
Daviz Simango (MDM): 2,212 (10.63 per cent) Armando Guebuza (Frelimo): 17,813 (85.6 per cent) Afonso Dhlakama (Renamo): 785 (3.77 per cent)
Parliamentary election
Frelimo: 17,242 (85.16 per cent) Renamo: 908 (4.48 per cent) MDM: 1,741 (8.6 per cent)
Finally, Frelimo's dominance of Gaza is now in excess of 95 per cent. The results from 288 of the 882 polling stations (32 per cent) are:
Presidential election
Daviz Simango (MDM): 3,976 (3.38 per cent) Armando Guebuza (Frelimo): 112,593 (95.76 per cent) Afonso Dhlakama (Renamo): 1,000 (0.85 per cent)
Parliamentary election
Frelimo: 114,482 (97.47 per cent) Renamo: 1,342 (1.14 per cent)
STAE has not yet provided any provisional results from the 11th province, Niassa, in the far north. All these results are subject to eventual confirmation by the National Elections Commission (CNE).
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